Bulldogs host Baton Rouge on Thursday

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast will open the NJCAA Region 23 Men's Basketball Tournament at home on Thursday.

The eighth-seeded Bulldogs (17-11) finished tied for eighth in the final MACCC standing, beating out East Central for the right to host Baton Rouge (19-8).

Buy your tickets ahead of time to save money. It costs $7 for adults or $5 for youth online, or $10 and $7 at the gate. Tickets are available at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets, and the game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

Coach Owen Miller's Gulf Coast squad made a memorable run to the Region 23 championship game last year, losing a one-possession game to Jones.

Gulf Coast beat Baton Rouge 85-83 on Jan. 9, but the Bears have won 13 straight since. They won six Louisiana Community College Athletic Conference games to earn their way into the region tournament.

The Bulldogs have won three of their last four headed into the postseason.

The winner of Thursday's game will travel to Ellisville on Monday to play top-seeded Jones in the quarterfinals. 

NJCAA Region 23 Men's Basketball Tournament

First Round

Higher seed hosts

Thursday, March 6

No. 5 Hinds vs. No. 12 Coahoma, Utica, 6 p.m.

No. 6 Holmes vs. No. 11 Mississippi Delta, Goodman, 6 p.m.

No. 7 Southwest Mississippi vs. No. 10 East Central, Summit, 7:30 p.m.

No. 8 Gulf Coast vs. No. 9 Baton Rouge, Perkinston, 7:30 p.m.

Quarterfinals

High seed hosts

Monday, March 10

No. 1 Jones vs. Baton Rouge-Gulf Coast winner, Ellisville

No. 2 Pearl River vs. Southwest-East Central winner, Poplarville

No. 3 Itawamba vs. Holmes-Mississippi Delta winner, Fulton

No. 4 Northeast Mississippi vs. Hinds-Coahoma winner, Booneville

Semifinals

Played at Ellisville

Wednesday, March 12

Finals

Played at Ellisville

Thursday, March 13

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.